From trash to Valhalla: what's on deck this weekend

Editorial

These concerts are designed to conform to CDC health guidelines, including pre-performance health screenings, partitions separating singers and accompanying musicians, and the wearing of masks where possible.

An open letter to the Canadian Opera Company

Op-Ed

This silence is the loudest thing you've ever produced. It is absolutely deafening. It has left an entire generation of Canadian artists in confusion and tears. Culture is ultimately a set of actions, not beliefs. Your silence therefore is an act representative of your culture.

Watch a George Crumb music video & meet the artists: Chordless launches new project

Review

Chordless has created an intriguing piece of art with this Crumb video, and it'll be a neat experience to view it, and then have an immediate face-to-face (or screen-to-screen) with the folks who made it.

Opera Atelier's Together/Apart a direct line to their great artists

Review

A total treat, though, was pianist Angela Hewitt's bit of Rameau. She was friendly and humble, and got right to the point with her camera angle, aimed at her energetic and nimble hands. Hewitt's contribution showed us how this whole thing can work well; it's solidified my hunch that finding the way to do this on-screen thing is uniquely difficult for opera singers.

Guys, stop telling people to #breakquarantine because of a crowded plane

Editorial

Opera people, hang in there. You're being troopers and innovators and generous people despite losing the thing you love and your ability to live comfortably. It's so awful, and my heart hurts for you guys. But when you're not being live opera singers, you're still being public figures who can set a good example and be good citizens.

Without the acoustic thrill, why are we still singing?

Editorial

But now, that last card has been revoked. Live isn't currently an option, which means neither is an acoustic sound experience. Opera companies are being generous (perhaps too generous?) with their online offerings, but none of it includes that singular experience of hearing an unamplified voice carrying over an unamplified orchestra.

"Sleep Chorus" & mask-making keep Minnesota Opera visible during pandemic

Interview

The company launched the "Sleep Chorus" to promote a special fund raising drive to compensate artists on and off stage during the pandemic shutdown while the protective masks went to organizations without access to traditional health care resources including assisted-living homes, veterinarians, blood services, shelters, and more

An opera librettist's quarantine film picks

How-To

"Probably my favorite comedy. No matter how many times I see this movie, I can’t help but laugh my ass off. I will go anywhere for Melissa McCarthy."

A week in at-home opera: editor's picks

Editorial

Online opera is all the rage, guys. And I don't know about you, but my super serious problem right now is deciding what on earth to watch in my jammies with my big wine glass and maybe some of the cookies I made as bribery tokens while my son is potty training.

We made a podcast!

Editorial

As the title suggests, this podcast is about finding bits of hope even when all your gigs are cancelled because there's a global pandemic. Schmopera editor Jenna Simeonov checks in with artists as they deal in their own ways with the loss of income, loss of motivation, and even the loss of identity.